


Why Complicate Things

by giggling_bubble



Series: Dribbledy, Drabbledy, Gobbledy, Gook [5]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Awkwardness, Complicated Relationships, Confessions, Delusions, Depression, Double Life, Embarrassment, Expectations, Exploration, F/M, Falling In Love, First Kiss, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship/Love, Identity Reveal, Jealousy, Love, Love Confessions, Marichat, Oblivious, Realization, Secret Identity, Secret Relationship, Self-Hatred, Sparks, True Love, Unrequited Love, ladrien, no inner monologue
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2018-10-24 11:47:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10741086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/giggling_bubble/pseuds/giggling_bubble
Summary: Love is so complicated. Poor Marinette and Adrien are just floundering around with no end in sight. Can they find a way back to each other through the web of rejection and deceit? Of course, they are the secret heroes of Paris. Is there a way for them to find an outlet for their unrequited love or will they forever feel desperate for affection that's never going to come?Guaranteed happy ending, but no promises that it isn't going to be a rough ride. I'm not even sure myself how it's going to play out.





	1. Chapter 1

"You have to tell him, girl," Alya urged from behind the trash can. She'd been pushing Marinette to confessing her feelings for Adrien, TO Adrien, for the last three years and this was the day she'd put her foot down. Adrien was on his way and Alya was ready to jump him herself and tell her if Marinette didn't.

Marinette stood there, glancing nervously at the trashcan out of the side of her eye, as he approached her. Her heart was beating in her ears and she felt like she was going to pass out. _I can't do it. I can just run. I'll run and no one will know. Alya can tell him. I don't care. It'll be humiliating, sure, but it would be better than thi--_

"Hey, Marinette!" Adrien waved at her as she was having her internal freak out. Marinette had a funny smile plastered to her face and Adrien smiled warmly back.

"Uh-um-uh, h-hi, A-adrien," she nervously shifted from one foot to the other, "You're beautiful. I mean, it's beautiful out, today, you're hot. It's not hot." _KILL ME!!!_ She nervously gulped and groaned inwardly.

Adrien watched as Marinette internally chastised herself; her eyes bugged out in disbelief. It was kind of adorable, truth be told. "Yeah, it's nice. Well, I guess I'll be seeing--"

There was a loud metallic thumping sound and Adrien glanced over at the trash can behind them. Marinette let out a nervous chuckle, "Uh, prob-bably a cat...or something. A-Adrien?"

"Yeah?"

 _His smile should be ILLEGAL!!_ Her knees buckled and she felt her resolve slipping, but she didn't want Alya to come jumping out after all. That would just be humiliating. This was humiliating. "I was, uh, wondering...you know, I've liked you for a long time."

"I like you, too, Marinette," he nodded, encouragingly. Adrien knew Marinette had trouble talking to him and he was trying to be supportive. He stared at her as she...growled. He bit back a laugh. _Did she just growl at me?_

She threw her hands up in the air in resignation, "I like you, ok? Not like you like a friend, like you. I mean, I **really** like you."

Adrien wasn't laughing now. Instead, he was frowning slightly. "Oh."

"I was w-wondering if you might, um, like to g-go and get a bite or something, sometime?"

He smiled, "Sure, we could get a group of us together or something. I don't get to go out much."

She frowned and stared down at her feet, shifting nervously as she bit her lip, "Um...n-no. I was asking you. We could go out. Just u-us."

"Like a date?" his eyebrows furrowed when she gave a curt nod in affirmation.

Adrien stared at her silently for a moment, trying to process what she'd said. He couldn't figure out how to tell her what he was thinking. He was in love with Ladybug, but he couldn't really come out and tell her that. She'd think he was a delusional teen boy like all the rest who had fantasies about someone out of his reach. She didn't know that they were best friends and hung out all the time. I mean, how could she? Even Ladybug didn't know it was him. He sighed, "Marinette, you're a really sweet girl."

_Did he just say I was sweet?_

"And I like you, I do, but as a friend. You are a wonderful person, but I'm interested in someone already," he saw her face fall and felt guilty, "I do think we should hang out more. I'd like to get to know you better. I would." She just stood there staring at him, speechless. "Are you upset?"

Suddenly, he saw her expressions change rapidly. She flew through heartbreak, to shock, to sadness, then finally, the most troubling, faking disinterest. He'd never seen Marinette look like this before. Her face went cold and her eyes were like steel. He'd hurt her feelings and they were _intense_ feelings. Shit. How had he missed this.

"No, it's...it's fine." Definitely NOT fine. "I'm sure she's a **great** girl." She bit out the word great through her clenched teeth. Her stutter was gone. _Don't cry._ "I understand. You're not the only one for me, right? I mean, you could date anyone. Why me?" Her forced self-deprecating laugh clenched his heart. The heaviest of sighs slipped past her lips as her eyes misted over, "I'm just Marinette. _Ordinary, clumsy_ Marinette. Yep. That's me."

He could see there was something bubbling under the surface, something she wasn't saying when she said 'ordinary, clumsy Marinette,' but he couldn't quite place it. In fact, it bothered him in the pit of his stomach. His gut was telling him to say screw it and give her a chance, but he couldn't. He loved Ladybug. This was Marinette, but he didn't want her to ever think of herself as ordinary. Marinette was ANYTHING, but ordinary. In fact, he knew he'd be attracted if it weren't for Ladybug. She was adorable, funny, shy, and sweet; so so sweet. Her selfless nature was inspiring and made him want to be a better person. She was strong and passionate, too, when the time was right. That is what made this entire exchange so heartbreaking. He knew he'd been staring at her silently, but he just couldn't get his mouth to move.

Her gaze shifted to the ground, "I won't take up any more of your time." With that, she was running off the other direction.

He finally found his voice, "WAIT!! MARINETTE!!" Why couldn't he have just told her she's wrong? She's not ordinary and that she is very special to him, but just not in that way.

Adrien was completely unaware of the figure that appeared next to him in an instant, "Smooth." Then Alya scoffed, "Way to be an insensitive ass, Adrien." Alya pulled out her cell phone and began texting Marinette, "Now I have to clean up this cluster." She flashed a furious gaze his direction, "Stay away from her or you'll be dealing with me. Got it?" With that, Alya walked off towards Marinette's house. 

He got ready to explain himself when a flash of red in the distance caught his eye. Sure, the timing sucked. He really did feel awful. He'd have to catch up to Marinette later and apologize, regardless of Alya's threat, but right now Marinette's courage had inspired him. _Ladybug_. Adrien took off running without sparing Alya a second glance.


	2. Chapter 2

Adrien's feet felt into a flat out run as he chased after his lady in the distance. She was really moving, too!

"Plagg!" he called into is pocket as he flung himself around the corner of a building, "Claws out!"

Before his transformation had completed he was already launching himself into a run and up onto the roofs. There she was! He could still see her running across the rooftops. What was she doing out this early? Was there an akuma?

He managed to catch up to her when she stopped on the top of one of the roofs across the Seine. He landed softly, his usual smile in place, when he saw her curl over herself--shaking. She was crying.

"Go away, Chat!" she shouted as she heard him land behind her.

"My lady, you're crying. What's wrong? Maybe I can help."

"No, you can't. I've had a bad day. I just want to be left alone. I'm really sorry, but I'm not in a good mood."

Chat approached her anyway, "Can I just sit next to you?"

"I don't want you to just watch me cry," she sobbed.

Chat sat down next to his lady and put an arm around her shoulders, "I'm not just going to watch you cry."

"Why are you here?" she asked through a break in her tears. She wiped her eyes and sniffed.

"Looking for you," he admitted.

"Oh? What is it?" Ladybug let her head fall onto his shoulder. He leaned over her and took a deep breath. Ladybug's hair smelled like what he'd imagine bottled sunshine would be; clean with the brightness of linen and the earthiness of sandalwood. There was a little hint of vanilla and he smiled.

"Can't I just want to see you?"

"Not like this, no," she shrugged, frowning, "I might just go home. I just needed a minute to pull myself together."

Chat ran his fingers through her bangs and pushed them out of her face. He sighed. It was now or never, "Ladybug, you know I'm here for you, right? I'll always be here for you. When you're crying, when you're furious as the devil at me, when you're beside yourself ecstatic or scared--I want to be the one you come to. Do you know what I'm getting at?"

Ladybug stiffened in his arms, "No. No, no, no, no, Chat, don't," she pushed away from him and stood up suddenly. Chat felt like he'd been slapped across the face. "You aren't allowed to do this, not now, not when I've just had my heart broken. I love you, I do, but it isn't like that." Ladybug turned away from him and tilted her head up to the heavens, loudly lamenting, "Isn't this rich?! Is this my karma? What have I done to deserve this, huh?! I have to break the heart of someone I love because someone I love broke my heart? This isn't right!" With that, she swung off into the distance leaving a stunned and heartbroken Chat in her wake.

He just watched her go as he stared down at his glove. It was glistening with the moisture from her tears. He lifted it to his own eyes so his tears could join hers there. They glistened an iridescent blue. He thought it was a play of the light on his glove. With a dejected sigh he made his way back home to sneak in the window and collapse in a heap on his bed.

* * *

"Come on, kid. It has been three hours. Your eyes are surely tapped out and I'm running on empty...cheese. Cheese. Cheese. Chee--"

"SHUT UP, PLAGG!!" he screamed, "Find it yourself."

"Fine," Plagg sniffed dejectedly and flew over to Adrien's desk. There were papers strewn across it, although organized, and he burrowed into one of the drawers with a wiggle of is tush. Once inside, he glanced around and found with an 'aha' a little slice of camembert, "Where have you been all my life." He threw it back in one gulp. "AH! Simple, yet satisfying." In this particular drawer, there was a little poof for Plagg to sleep. He very rarely camped out in the drawer as he was prone to snuggle. Adrien didn't seem to mind.

At the back of the drawer was Adrien's journal. He hid it expertly to be sure no one every found it. There was a false back and it slipped in to the small space nicely. Plagg knew he kept his deepest, darkest secrets in it. Unlike girls, guys weren't supposed to write and express their feelings. Adrien wasn't like most boys, but he really did try to be. He just wanted, more than anything, to be like everybody else.

Plagg could hear the sniffles coming from the direction of his bed and sighed, "This won't do." With that, he flew out of his drawer and snuggled next to Adrien's neck. "Cheer up, Kit." He nuzzled into his jaw and purred. Adrien brought his hand up to cup Plagg against his cheek.

"I love her so much, Plagg," he sobbed.

"Like that girl who loves you," he mumbled. Plagg didn't think his boy had heard what he said, but all of a sudden Adrien shot up in bed.

"You're right," he wiped his eyes, "This is probably exactly how Marinette feels--because of me." His voice got quiet as the gravity of the statement sunk in. Marinette had confessed to him and he'd shot her down. He didn't even stick around to see how she was doing. It was much the same as Ladybug, but in Ladybug's defense she was already thoroughly upset. What excuse did he have? His mouth wouldn't work? Lame. "I'm awful, Plagg."

"You're not awful," Plagg muttered, "You're a boy. Boys are dumb."

"Thanks, Plagg," he said flatly.

Plagg shrugged his little shoulders and pulled away from Adrien's face, "I call 'em like I see 'em and you guys are dolts."

"I have to go talk to her," he whispered.

"How do you expect to find her?"

"Not Ladybug, Plagg. I need to see Marinette. I need to talk to her and explain."

"Yeah, walk right up to her bakery at 10:00 at night, 'Hey, I'm the boy that ignored your confession of love this morning. How are ya?' I'm sure that would go over well. Her dad MIGHT not kill you," Plagg snickered.

Adrien ran his hand through his hair and groaned helplessly before flopping back on his bed with an 'oof.' "This is not good. This is not good. I have to see her at school tomorrow, Plagg. What am I going to do?"

"You'll do what you always do."

"And what's that?"

"Pretend like she doesn't exist."

An audible, pained moan escaped Adrien's lips as he curled in on himself. It was true. He didn't really acknowledge Marinette's presence in class. Adrien always thought himself considerate because she had so much trouble talking to him. Instead, as realized too little too late, she was just nervous because she liked him. Here he was under the impression that he was doing her a favor, but instead was probably making it all worse. Another problem was she was best friends with Alya who was dating Nino. Adrien began to shake. He could see his entire friend structure collapsing because he hurt Marinette. He couldn't figure out why Alya was so mad at him. He ran through the conversation no less than a dozen times and he had tried to be thoughtful and let her down easy.

There was a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. That's when an idea came to him.

Adrien stood and ran to his window, "We're going to go see her as Chat."

"Are you sure that's such a good i--"

"Claws out!"

Chat jumped out of his window and vaulted the couple blocks to Marinette's bakery. He dropped to the roof of the building across the street to see she was sitting out on the balcony. Her body was wrapped up in a big, fluffy blanket and her knees were pulled up to her chest. From a distance it just looked like a pile of blankets, but he could see her little nose peeking out the top and it rocked every once in a while.

There was a moment's hesitation before Chat finally shook his head _screw it._ He landed softly just aside from her. Marinette's head peeked out of the blanket and her eyes widened in shock.

"Chat Noir? What are you doing here?"

"Checking in on you, purrincess," he smiled, "I heard you were upset."

"Ha!" she shouted dryly, "Upset. Yeah, close enough."

He approached her slowly, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," she shook her head, "I'd rather just wallow in my own grief. I'll be all right with time." Marinette took note of his bloodshot eyes and recoiled internally. He'd been crying his eyes out, too, and the realization that she'd been the one to do that cut deep. "Are you all right, Chat?" She flung her blanket open as an invitation and tapped the ground next to her.

His lips twitched into a sad grin as he accepted her hospitality, "No," he shook his head.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "A dejected kitty and his loser friend."

"You're not a loser, Marinette," he chided, "Not even a little bit."

"Yeah? Forgive me if I agree to disagree," she sniffed. He'd used her real name and the sincerity was thick, but she just couldn't bring herself to accept it.

He draped an arm around her shoulders and pulled the blanket back around themselves, "You don't have to agree if you don't mind being wrong." He smirked and sighed.

"So how'd you hear about it?" she asked.

Adrien hadn't planned on that being a question thrown his way. "Uh, grapevine, really. Want to give me the real version?"

She sighed sadly and looked away, "I've been trying to tell this guy I liked him for a couple years now."

 _A couple years?!?!_ Adrien wasn't aware it had been THAT long.

"He sits in front of me in homeroom."

"Why did it take you so long to tell him you liked him?" he wondered aloud.

She smiled shyly, "Well, it's stupid, really. I didn't know him, at all, when I became infatuated with him. I thought it was dumb, too, but I couldn't help it. Over time, I guess I got to seeing him more. I began to like him more, but in a different way."

"Oh? Could you explain?"

"It's hard, Chat. He is gorgeous, don't get me wrong." Chat snorted at that and Marinette grinned as she continued, "That's not all. That's not even the half of it. Well, let's just say I shouted at him, and accused him of some things, the first time I met him. He apologized even though he didn't do it. THEN, even after I'd wrongfully accused him and humiliated him in front of a room full of strangers he was trying to impress, he gave me his umbrella because it was raining." A single tear dripped down her cheek. "He so kind. I realized I'd misjudged him." Chat nodded to prompt her to continue. "And there was more there--loneliness. Like real, immense loneliness, and it broke my heart. I do love him, Chat, even if he can't love me back. His friendship is worth more to me than anything. I just had hoped there could be more. I'm going to be better tomorrow. I have to. I don't want him to hurt, Chat, even if he hurt me. It isn't his fault he's such a wonderful person. It's my fault I'm not."

Chat's eyes bugged out of his head and he stared at her in disbelief, "You don't realize how amazing you are, do you? You are a wonderful person, Marinette."

She snorted humorlessly, "Yeah, ok."

"You are," he growled, "If he can't see how amazing you are then he's not worth it." _I'm really not worth it._

"You don't know him, Chat. He'll always be worth it."

Inside, Adrien's heart was breaking in more ways than one. The conflict and turmoil was ripping him apart. Marinette, she really did love him, and he didn't deserve it, but he couldn't convince her otherwise. This girl. He still didn't return her feelings in the same way, but suddenly he felt like he wanted to try. He'd do whatever he could to make everything better. They had to try to fix it. He couldn't take the pain of it all anymore.

"Do you want to talk about why you're upset, Chat?" she asked. She knew exactly why he was upset, but she wanted to hear it from him how he was feeling. Ever since she'd returned home she'd felt guilty for her rejection of her kitty. His flirtatious advances had always seemed over the top dramatic and insincere, but now she wasn't so sure. It made her stomach twist in knots remembering how she'd hurt him. Once she was able to recollect herself, the sudden realization of how she'd handled Chat's heartfelt confession made her feel like scum of the earth. She had been insensitive, cold, and inappropriately harsh with her Chat. She would have to make it up to him someday--soon.

His face scrunched up, "No."

Marinette knew immediately that HE was hurting far worse than she was. This was unexpected. It was as if she could see his world was breaking down, not just his heart. She threw her arms around him and held him as he began to unravel.

"I...I messed up, Mari."

_Why does that sound so familiar._

"I'm not worth anyone's love," he sobbed.

"That's not true," she whispered into his hair as he dropped his head to her shoulder. "I love you."

"I know," he whined, "but I don't deserve it." He wiped his nose with the back of his clawed hand.

She hushed him gently and rocked them back and forth. This hadn't been the reaction she'd anticipated from Chat Noir. He was always so put together and silly. How was she to know he was so sensitive? Or that he'd take it so hard? She didn't know exactly what to do with this serious side of him. Her poor kitty. SHE did this. Her actions had caused this because she hadn't realized just how deep his emotions ran or how emotional he was.

"You do," she insisted, "You do, you do, you do. Chat, you are such an amazing person. You are and I can tell. All of Paris thinks so."

"All of Paris only knows Chat Noir," he sniffed quietly.

She scoffed, "Then believe me when I say, screw the rest of Paris, I am PAWSITIVE you are an extraordinary person even under that mask. The boy underneath there is precious and loved, okay? By me! You already said I'm amazing and not a loser. Do you think this amazing not-loser would lie to you?"

He snickered, "No."

"NO!" she exclaimed emphatically, "I would NOT lie to you. If we can't be there for the people we love how about we be there for each other? What do you think? I know it's not the same, but I know I care about you. You care about me, too, don't you Chat?"

"I do," he nodded. Man, did he. He cared more about her now than he had ever thought he would. There was an immense relief washing over him, snuggled in her embrace, as he was made aware of the awesomeness of this girl.

"So...what do you think?"

"Snuggling with you to drown our woes of rejection? Absolutely." His voice was still muffled by her shoulder, but she could hear him chuckle.

"Come on, kitty. It's getting cold. We can go watch a movie. Unless you want to go home."

"No, a movie would be nice," he agreed.


	3. Chapter 3

Today was Marinette's chance to reclaim her life, from the grips of a debilitating crush that had become an obsession. It was time to get over Adrien Agreste, pull up her big girl pants, and trudge on. In her head she ticked off all the positives.

_I won't be so self-conscious around him anymore. I can dedicate more of my time and energy to my craft. I'll have so much more space on my walls for new art. I'll be able to pay attention in class now. I won't constantly be looking around to catch a glimpse of him and wasting valuable social time. I won't shirk my obligations just to chase him down while he's working; while I'm supposed to be. All good things._

And yet, after she'd mentally psyched herself up, she felt worse. It felt like betrayal and they'd never even been together. It felt like she didn't care about him at all anymore, which wasn't true, he just wasn't going to be the sole focus of her attentions anymore in that way; romantically. The guilt still sunk like a rock in her gut. He was still her friend. At least she hoped they could be friends. And you know what? She was betting she knew him better than most of his other 'friends,' like Chloe, so she'd be the best damn friend he'd ever had if he needed her to be. She didn't like him any less, really, but she had to figure out a way to let him go because he didn't like her the same.

She wouldn't be focused on his touches and glances anymore, no. She'd be focused more on what he needed as a person; read between the lines and interpret his body language. _Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste expert, at your service_. She giggled to herself. It was ridiculous to think of it that way, but honestly, who was better qualified? The only person she could think _might_ be was Nino, but even Nino said there were walls he couldn't get through. Challenge accepted.

Marinette had seen how broken and hurt Chat looked last night. She didn't want anyone to see her that vulnerable and distraught. Marinette was klutzy, sure, but that didn't mean she'd let this keep her down. Nope.

Her satchel slipped down her shoulder as she barreled across the busy street towards Francois Dupont. There were eclairs tucked under her arm for her friends and a package of personally dipped chocolates in her left. If this didn't say 'no hard feelings' after the cluster that was yesterday then she didn't know what would.

Although, now that she was racing up the front steps, the butterflies started to beat a steady tempo in her gut. Whew. She'd be seeing Adrien today after she'd confessed to him yesterday and blubbered like an idiot. How embarrassing! Today was a new day, so she took a deep breath and entered her homeroom.

The first thing she noticed as she walked in, her head held high in faux confidence, was how broken Adrien looked. He looked devastated. Her facade dropped almost instantly. This wasn't what she'd anticipated. It looked almost like he was the one who had been rejected. Did he feel guilty about yesterday? Nino was leaning close to him with his arm around his shoulders.

"Look, bro, everyone messes up now and again. You just have to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep on playing your song."

Adrien nodded, but didn't look like he was paying attention to Nino. His eyes were unfocused as they stared about six feet in front of their desk.

"Eclair?" Marinette whispered as she set one in front of him.

He blinked and his eyes cleared as he looked up at her. The scleras of his eyes were red, like he'd been crying, but he perked up almost instantly at the sight of the pastry. "Sure," he smiled up at her softly, "Thanks, Marinette."

"No problem." She dropped one in front of a speechless Nino and hopped up to her seat. Then she leaned over to plop one in front of Alya and dug into her own.

"DUDE!" Nino whisper yelled, "All I had to do to cheer you up was bring you food? Why didn't you say that 'big mistake' you made was forgetting to eat. I can totally understand." He grinned at his friend knowingly. They'd play it off like there wasn't something else eating at him.

Adrien smirked to himself, "Yeah." Then he cleared his throat and stared at the eclair. He really wanted to turn around to catch a glimpse of the caring girl who sat behind him, but he still felt ashamed of himself.

"What is up with you?" Alya whispered over to her friend, "Yesterday you were a mess and now...you bring him an eclair?"

Marinette shrugged, "Its my coping mechanism."

Alya grinned and stared at her eclair, "Well, damn. I'm not complaining." She took a big bite and moaned, "This is delicious."

At that point, Nino turned around to glare at his girlfriend.

"What?" she asked around a mouthful of flaky dough.

Nino turned back to face the front of the classroom and very passive-aggressively snapped his headphones over his ears and turned the volume up on his MP3 player. He couldn't hear the giggles that erupted from the girls behind him.

The school day was agonizingly slow for Adrien. He twitched every time he heard Marinette move behind him. When she went to sharpen her pencil, his eyes followed her the entire way there and shifted downward frantically as she watched him try to watch her the whole way back.

He about jumped out of his skin when he heard her lean forward to whisper in his ear, "You okay, Adrien?"

"Ah, yeah, fine," he muttered before leaning forward to lean over his desk. He couldn't deal with her today. His mind was playing tricks on him. He thought, perhaps, his turmoil over being turned down by Ladybug, and how amazing Marinette was yesterday, that there might have been a shift in his affections. Although, it didn't make any sense for him to be so nervous around her. She wasn't Ladybug. Then again, he wasn't wearing a mask as Chat Noir, either. Right now he was just Adrien and everyone knew it.

That afternoon, Adrien went home. He had to get his head on straight. Maybe this was a rebound thing. He just had to go out there and meet some new people. That worked out well for him when he went to school. Perhaps his father would approve if it was beneficial from an image standpoint. Adrien wasn't looking for anything serious. He'd have to talk to Nathalie about it.

"I don't see why you want to date anyone at all," Plagg lamented over a mound of cheese, "You have everything you need right here."

"I'm not looking for anything serious, Plagg. I'm just trying to figure out how I feel and if it is just me. I don't want dozens of girls to affect me like this. I don't think I'd be able to survive. I need to see if this is a me or them thing."

"You humans and your crazy courting rituals are exhausting," Plagg scoffed, "Food is one, essential, and two, the only love you're ever going to need."

"I'm on a diet, Plagg. I don't get to enjoy it like you do," he glared.

Plagg shrugged, "You win some, you lose some."

* * *

Marinette went home with a smile on her face that day. It had been a good one. She felt like she could talk to Adrien and getting over him was much easier. Then again, she might have Chat Noir to thank for that. He'd really been a comrade in arms the other day, both of them miserable, and it made her really assess how she was dealing and how she wanted to. That was until she got a text from Alya.

**Alya to M: Marinette, Nino just texted me. I didn't want you to find out about this later from anyone else. Adrien told him he wants to start dating.**

Marinette's eyes watered as she tried to swallow down her emotions. It wasn't working. The tears were flowing, she was already gasping for air that wouldn't come, and her throat was constricting into a solid mass at the base of her tongue. It was her. It wasn't that he wasn't interested in dating at all. He just didn't want to date her.

Marinette sat on the curb and typed out a quick text to her friend.

**Marinette to A: Ow**

It was the only thing she could get out in that moment.

**Alya to M: Marinette?**

**Alya to M: Marinette. Answer me. Ow what?**

Ten minutes, and eight lack of responses from Marinette later, Alya texted Nino.

**Alya to Nino: I'm going to kill him.**

Nino, who was confused as to who, or why, Alya was going to kill someone was about to respond when the light bulb went off. Oh shit.

**Nino to Adrien: Alya's on the warpath dude.**

**Adrien to Nino: Why?**

**Nino to A: I might have told her you were looking to start dating.**

**Nino to A: And she might have told Marinette.**

Adrien was immediately regretting all of his life choices. That was not how this was supposed to go down. It was supposed to be incognito and Marinette was never supposed to find out about it. He might actually, genuinely like her romantically. He just had some things to figure out. Thanks a lot, Nino.

**Adrien to N: WTF?!?! You realize when I say tell 'no one' that includes Alya.**

**Nino to A: Sorry, bro. She'd have found out, anyway. What's the big deal?**

**Adrien to N: I think I might like Marinette! I was going to see if what I feel for her is just rebound after getting my heart stomped on this weekend by an amazing girl or if I'm actually in to her. Christ!**

Nino read his two page text and groaned. How was he supposed to know? Adrien hadn't told him half of that.

**Nino to A: I wasn't aware of like half of that, not gonna lie.**

Adrien tried to steady his breathing as his entire world shifted. He was sitting in the back of the sedan and yet he felt like he was falling.

**Adrien to N: This is bad, Nino. This is very, very bad.**

**Nino to A: Just tell her dude. You're the one who turned HER down, if I remember correctly, and you know she likes you. I doubt she'll care that she's your second pick. Better yet, ask HER out on a date!**

Adrien thought about that. It wasn't a bad idea. He'd feel like a total ass if he asked Marinette out on a date now, though, after turning her down. Especially, when she asks why and he has to tell her he was holding out for someone else who then turned _him_ down. That didn't sound too great an option, either.

**Adrien to N: Maybe. I have to think about this. Never mind that I said that. It was a stupid idea.**

**Nino to A: Just think about it, man. Marinette is awesome. I'm sure she'd forgive you for whatever dumb thing you're afraid of.**

Adrien smiled at that.

**Adrien to N: Thanks, Nino. I feel a little better now.**

**Nino to A: No problem! That's what I'm here for.**

Too bad Nino forgot to relay this exchange to Alya and, by proxy, Marinette.


	4. Chapter 4

Marinette curled up in a little ball on her bed with her Chat Noir plushie gripped in her arms. The face of the plush was soaked from her tears rolling down her cheeks and onto the fabric. There wasn't anything she could do to stop it, though.

There was a tapping on her skylight that brought her out of her stupor, but only momentarily, "Not tonight, Chat. I don't feel very well."

The door swung open and he hopped in and landed on her bed, anyway. "Don't be like that, princess," he cooed and crawled over to where she was curled up and sobbing, "What's wrong?"

He ran his fingers through her hair soothingly while she hiccuped, "I d-do-don't want to talk abo-about it."

"Is it about that _jerk_ who turned you down?"

She flinched and he knew he'd hit the mark, but what he hadn't anticipated was her to glare at him. "Adrien isn't a jerk, Chat," she scolded, "He's anything, but a jerk. It just hurts, though, you know? Knowing he's looking for a girl, could be any girl, except me. I know that I'm the ONE girl he's NOT looking for...and it hurts."

He frowned, "That's not true, Princess." His clawed glove reached forward to wipe her eyes, but she shook her head furiously out of his reach.

"Yes, it is, Chat," she glowered, "Don't even try to flip this around because you don't know! I asked him to give me a chance, us a chance, and he said he didn't like me that way." Chat winced. Yeah, he had said that. "That means I'm not even in the running. I have my clear 'reject' stamp on my forehead as far as he's concerned. I might as well put a flashing sign on my ass that says 'failed inspection' while I'm at it."

"Hey, now, slow down, Marinette," he chastised, "Don't you think you're exaggerating just a little bit?"

"NO!" she shrieked, "I'm not! I've got it straight from the horse's mouth, 'not interested.'"

Her screeching was bordering on hysterics now and he really didn't know what to do. There was only one thought that popped into his head so he went for it. Marinette stilled and her eyes widened as Chat pressed his lips over the top of her own. It was maybe five seconds before he pulled away and blushed sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, Marinette, I didn't mean to take liberties. You were just hysterical and I didn't know what to d--ooomph!"

Marinette tackled Chat to her bed and pressed her lips firmly to his own. They both relaxed into the kiss and let out a relieved sigh. It was as if all the tension had been building to this one moment.

"Wow, Marinette," he grinned up at her as she pulled back to look at him. His grin vanished when he saw her eyebrows furrow and she frowned.

"Kitty, can we talk?"

"Uh, yeah..." he said nervously, "Sure."

Marinette sat back on her haunches and tucked her hair behind her ears, "What are we?"

He blinked back at her owlishly, "Pardon?"

"You just kissed me...then I kissed you...and my heart is obviously pining for another guy. What are we?"

"Confused?" he chuckled.

"You still love Ladybug, don't you?"

He frowned and looked away from her, "I do."

"Oh."

Then he jerked back to look at her, "But I like you, too, Marinette. I don't even know how I feel anymore."

"If we were to test these waters, would you drop me like a hot potato if Ladybug gave you a chance?"

Chat didn't hesitate, "No way. I'm 100% loyal, always."

She grinned, "Promise?"

"Yes." He leaned forward and grabbed her hands, "Would you want to go on a date, Princess?"

"We can't likely go on a date, kitty," she sighed, "Not like that, anyway."

"Would you want to be my girlfriend, anyway?" he asked shyly.

She smirked, "You never asked me if I'd give you up for Adrien."

He grinned, "I trust you." That was enough to make Marinette's heart want to burst.

She chuckled and leaned forwards, "And you wouldn't go with Ladybug if she were to ask you on a date?"

"Absolutely not."

Marinette grinned knowingly, "You're sure about that?"

Chat stared blankly, confused, "Huh?"

She whispered, "Tikki, spots on." There was a flash of pink light and suddenly Ladybug was sitting in front of him, "So you wouldn't want to go on a date, Chat?"

His jaw about hit the bed while she saw his brain shorting out behind his eyes.

"Chat?!?!" she exclaimed worriedly as she jumped forward, throwing her arms around his shoulders to shake him, "Chat?!" She waved a hand in front of his face and started planting little kisses all over his face, "Please say something."

Marinette was worried she'd just screwed up, royally.

"I'm sorry I turned you down," she wrapped her arms around him and pleaded, "I'm so sorry, please forgive me. I didn't realize it would hurt you so. I never wanted to hurt you. Adrien turned me down that day and I have no excuse for being so cold towards you. You're my best friend and I'd never do anything intentionally to hurt you. I do love you. I might even love you like you want me to. I just need you to forgive me. I'm so so sorry."

Ladybug was pleading frantically in his arms when he finally came back to full consciousness. She was mumbling apologetically as she held him tightly.

"My Lady," he said softly, "This whole time?"

"I know," she frowned and buried her head in self-deprecation, "I'm an awful human being and I don't deserve your love."

He pulled her away at that and held her shoulders, "No, Marinette, don't ever say that. You're the most amazing person I know."

"You are only saying that because..." she gestured at the disguise, "It's just a suit, Chat. Ladybug's a fake, a phony, a facade that just swings around Paris because the magic let's her. I'm not magic. I'm just Marinette."

He leaned forward, "Aw...ho, ho," he cooed and held her head gently. Chat tucked his head into his neck and shushed her, "My Lady, I believe we need to have a long talk. You are not just Marinette. You are _my_ Marinette and I wouldn't have it any other way. We're so stupid, you see? Blind and stupid. Oblivious and foolish. You're not a phony, or a fake, or hiding behind a facade. You _are_ Ladybug because Ladybug is you. Our kwamis give us those magic abilities, but everything else is all you. Don't you see how amazing you are?"

"Yes, but I hurt you."

"I hurt you, too," he sighed unhappily, "Can you ever find it in your heart to forgive _me_?"

"I'd always forgive you, Chaton," she sighed. In her despair, she was completely unaware of what he was apologizing for.

There was a flash of green, but Marinette couldn't see it from her dark hiding spot beneath his chin. Adrien wrapped his arms tightly around her, "I forgive you, Marinette and I love you."

"I love you, too," she whispered into his neck.

Then she heard a second voice, cackling, "Way to go, kid. You two dummies are perfect for each other."

Marinette sat upright to see that Chat had released his transformation and her heart all but stopped. _Adrien._ Chat was Adrien Agreste. Chat. Was. Adrien. Agreste.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize this is a short reveal chapter, but this story is wrapping up. The next is either the last or second to last. Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> **I will finish my stories. I will. I just have so many ideas and so many starts that they might take forever to get there. Bear with me, please!! I do love input. Oh, and if anyone wants to take any of my ideas off of my hands, and run with it, don't be afraid to ask. I'll just ask that you let me give input now and again. :) All for the love of the art!s**


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